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developments in CLASSIFICATION SOCIETIES Lloyd’s Register Asia’s China national committee urges shipbuilding industry to focus on quality Some of the maritime industry’s leading practitioners have urged global shipbuilders and suppliers not to let the current shipping boom distract them from what must remain their top priority: the construction of quality vessels. The comments, made at the seventh annual meeting of Lloyd’s Register Asia’s China National Committee (CNC), came as global shipbuilding capacity was set to eclipse 50 million compensated gross tonnes next year, raising concerns about the number of inexperienced yards entering the market and the growing pressure to find increasingly scarce skilled workers. Zhang Guangqin, the President of the China Association of National Shipbuilding Industry, said with the appreciation of the Yuan, rising interest rates, and surging raw material and labour costs already threatening to curb the global appetite for new ships, any slip in shipbuilding quality could bring an end to the current demand cycle. “Quality issues are the best excuses for ship owners to stop ordering and, with so many challenges emerging for the yards to manage, strengthening quality management should be the most urgent and important task,” Zhang told delegates in Sanya, Hainan Island. “This year needs to be the Year of Quality for China’s marine industries.” The CNC meeting hosted by Lloyd’s Register was attended by more than 40 of the country’s top builders, owners and designers who collectively challenged the industry to renew its commitment to quality, noting that failure to do so would reach beyond the industry to adversely impact on the overall ‘Made in China’ brand. Delegates also heard from George Sarris, the President of Enterprises Shipping and Trading, one of the five largest shipping groups in Greece. Sarris commended the Chinese shipbuilding industry for quickly reaching the ambitious goals the government had set for it, while urging newcomers to the market to use the world’s elite yards as their quality benchmarks, rather than the achievements of a rival new yard. “You, gentlemen, have set your targets and you have achieved them. But this unprecedented achievement has to be safeguarded by all stakeholders and certain precautions now have to be taken to ensure that it serves as the foundation for a better and more illustrious future,” Sarris said. “It is very important to always bear in mind that it takes many years to build up a reputation and only one instant to ruin it.” He also called for classification societies to play a more proactive role in helping to establish quality safeguards and systems to support the industry in China, where about 30 percent of the 160 million deadweight tonnes order book at the end of last year had been reportedly contracted to yards that have yet to build a ship. Roy Thomson, Senior Vice-President North Asia Marine for Lloyd’s Register Asia, told delegates that Lloyd’s Register will have spent US$1.4 million in 2007-08 to provide the facilities and people for external training courses, including 2,900 man-days to 1,200 delegates from more than 50 companies in China since September. He said Lloyd’s Register’s China team had supported their unrivalled training initiatives with the launch in August of the non-fee earning technical performance group (TPG). “We created the TPG precisely to enhance our service delivery and limit the risks to our clients. We believe this will not only support the construction of safe, quality ships, it will also differentiate us from our rivals in this increasingly competitive market,” said Thomson, adding that the TPG would have 20 experienced employees by the end of the year. “It is also our way of increasing awareness across the marine supply chain and working with the manufacturers to help improve the quality of their products.” For further information contact: Lloyd’s Register, UK. Web: www.lr.org ClassNK provides disaster relief to Chinese earthquake victims In June, Japanese ship classification society Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) extended its sincere condolences and deepest sympathies to the victims of the Sichuan Earthquake, which occurred on May 12, 2008. In order to contribute to relief efforts, ClassNK donated US$30,000 to the Chinese Government’s disaster relief fund to provide assistance to areas damaged by the earthquake. Meanwhile, the Japanese classification society announced in April the establishment of its new NK Tianjin Office on April 1, 2008. The NK Tianjin Office further reinforces ClassNK’s service network by becoming the 101st exclusive survey site of the NK global network and the ninth office in China. The new office is expected to further enhance the society’s ability to better meet the needs its clients in China and around the world. For further information contact: Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK), Japan. Web: www.classnk.or.jp Mr Noboru Ueda, Chairman and President of Nippon Kaiji Kyokai 30 July 2008 SHIPS AND SHIPPING